Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 15, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 646 6481 6992 Osprey 0 4 121 Bald Eagle 0 24 82 Northern Harrier 10 253 697 Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 1257 5692 Cooper's Hawk 0 46 110 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 10 12 Broad-winged Hawk 0 58 12998 Red-tailed Hawk 0 72 133 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 9 256 1861 Merlin 1 19 74 Peregrine Falcon 1 29 73 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 680 8513 28849 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Cary Graham, Ernie Gribble, Keith Sealy Visitors: Ken Wootton, Lucas Foerster. Weather: With clear blue sky for the first couple of hours, it was stretch to believe that rain was on the way, but cloud started buildiubg to the north and west of us between about 12:30 and our end time (1:30) -- and it was indeed raining! as well, the barometer dropped like a stone throughout the watch. Although the forecast was for W winds early, the wind had already shifted to the WSW at the beginning of the watch and there it stayed throughout, gaining strength as the day progressed, eventually reaching 30 km / hr with gusts to 45 km / hr. Raptor Observations: A lot of leaves fell today and not many raptors headed west, at least not at the cliff. Our total for the day was 680 migrants; 646 of those were Turkey Vultures while only 34 were raptors. Of those, the majority were Sharp-shinned Hawks with 13 in all, but Northern Harriers (10) were close behind. In addition, we counted 9 Am. Kestrels, and 1 each of Merlin and Peregrine. Actually, we had originally counted 2 Peregrines, as 2 flew west, but 1 returned to the east and did not appear again today. A couple of local Bald Eagles were seen cruising the cliff and a local Redtail piqued our interest for a while, but never did go anywhere except around in circles. Non-raptor Observations: Many thanks to Keith, Cary, Ernie and Lucas for their non-raptor observations for today. First, although this was the 15th of October, observers reported 10 Monarch Butterflies today. A Cabbage White was also seen as well as a Green Darner (dragonfly). A few Blue Jays flew west today, but they were in singles or very small flocks and intermittent. Am. Robin and Am. Goldfinch also flew west but in small flocks and few of those. Early in the morning, several large (50+) flocks of European Starlings headed west along the cliff and a single Common Loon headed north along the treeline -- they usually are headed south towards the lake! Observers had better luck along the roadside and in the woods. Highlights were Eastern Phoebe, Downy, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Blue-headed Vireo, numerous Ruby-crowned and a few Golden-crowned Kinglets, 3 species of Warbler (Yellow-rumped, Tennessee and Nashville), Hermit and Swainson's Thrush, as well as White-throated, White-crowned and Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Junco. Predictions: Friday's forecast is for NW winds and an increasing probability of rain as the day progresses. Rain may start as early as the noon hour. Temps will start out very cool rising to 12 degrees C. but with that wind, it will feel much cooler. Saturday will be at the very least, cloudy and at the most, wet as well. Winds are expected to remain northwesterly, but temps will start out at 2 C., feeling more like -2 C. At present, it looks like a cold, wet, dismal fall day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
